Thursday, August 24, 2006

During my daily blog crawl, I usually come across stories and random links that I'll save to include in a links post later on. Today though, I've come across something I'd like very much to take the time to address.

"Israeli military chief of staff Lt Gen Dan Halutz has for the first time publicly admitted to failings in the conflict with Hezbollah."

This is the headline from BBC News' latest article on the continuing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah (full story here).

What sort of 'failings' are we talking about here? Are we talking about the civilians (on both sides) that have lost their homes, their livelihood, or worse?

Are we talking about the beautiful cities of Beirut and Haifa that have been beaten back 20 years, and buried under the rubble of intolerance?

Or are we talking about the fact that the instant a nation makes the decision to revert to war - a grievous 'failing' has occurred?

With the death toll already high (over 1,000 Lebanese dead, and over 100 Israelis) what's really been accomplished?

In the short term, sure, the looming threat of a militant militia has been quelled. The so-called 'party of god' has felt the wrath of the Israeli military. But what about the long term? This conflict will soon be just another page, or worse - a footnote, in the annals of this long conflict between Israel and its neighbors - brushed over by a reader's saccade.

It's important at times like these, for me at least, to ensure that my memory lasts longer than just the last sweeps week on the news. Before this latest conflict, countless others have all been part and parcel of the larger one - and that larger conflict is the one to lament.

In the long term, the onus to commit to peace in good faith (no crossing of fingers) falls on Israel as much as it does on the aggressors acting against it.

As for the 'failings' mentioned by the Israeli military chief of staff - I'm pretty sure he's ok. Lt Gen Halutz sold off his stock portfolio before fighting broke out.